Am I doing this wrong?

pmurtey
pmurtey Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
I have been vegetarian since the beginning of May. I also started Insanity and am on week two. My goal plan is 1200 calories a day but I consistently end up with a lot less due to workouts, and I HAVEN'T LOST A SINGLE POUND!

Am I not eating enough?

Is this just because of my age?

any help is greatly appreciated.

oh and you might want to check my food.
currently 140 pounds 5'6" with chubs.

Replies

  • cnf2013
    cnf2013 Posts: 14 Member
    You need to NET 1200 calories a day otherwise you're doing yourself a disservice. Did you become a vegetarian for weight loss purposes? Take it from someone who was a strict vegetarian for six years, vegetarian =/= healthy.
  • TribeHokie
    TribeHokie Posts: 711 Member
    Given the fact that you're male AND doing Insanity, yeah I would say you should eat a bit more. Try bumping up to 1500 calories or so for a couple weeks. Also, don't forget that Insanity will build muscle. Muscle is denser than fat so you want to try other status checks like taking measurements. Building muscle will also cause some water retention as your muscles repair themselves, so don't freak out about the scale if it has only been two weeks.
  • lorid220
    lorid220 Posts: 14
    Sounds like your body is in starvation mode; it will hold on to fat stores if it thinks that it is in danger of starvation.
    You are 18 years old, likely with a high metabolism, and burning close to 1000 calories daily from your workouts. You need to FUEL your body.
    The Insanity diet guide has good info in it and a step by step formula to determine what your caloric intake should be.

    Good luck.
  • pmurtey
    pmurtey Posts: 4
    You need to NET 1200 calories a day otherwise you're doing yourself a disservice. Did you become a vegetarian for weight loss purposes? Take it from someone who was a strict vegetarian for six years, vegetarian =/= healthy.
    Didn't do it for weight loss but to just be more healthy in general. Figured becoming vegetarian would force me to make healthier food choices.
  • pmurtey
    pmurtey Posts: 4
    Sounds like your body is in starvation mode; it will hold on to fat stores if it thinks that it is in danger of starvation.
    You are 18 years old, likely with a high metabolism, and burning close to 1000 calories daily from your workouts. You need to FUEL your body.
    The Insanity diet guide has good info in it and a step by step formula to determine what your caloric intake should be.

    Good luck.
    k. Thanks for the advice. I figured so but it is hard to believe that I am in "starvation mode" wouldn't have noticed had I not been using this program.
    Now that I think about it, I get really tired and lethargic during the day, and get really bad cravings.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Yes you are doing it wrong.
    1. Figure out your TDEE.
    2. Eat at a deficit of that.
    3. Lift and lose.
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
    My doctor said pretty much nobody EVER should go under 1200 net calories per day. And by net I mean intake minus calories burned. So if you eat 1200 calories and burn 400, your net is 800. This is not good.

    If your goal is 1200 calories, you need to be eating back your exercise calories to meet that minimum goal. So burn 400 calories means you need to eat a total of 1600 that day.

    I lost most my weight at 1240 net calories (plus or minus a couple) per day. So I'm not knocking low calorie eating. But I had doctor approval to go this low. Eating that low is not for everyone and not at all healthy for some. Eventually my weight loss stalled and I actually INCREASED my intake to jump start the weight loss again. I don't know all the ins and outs biologically for why this works, but I know since I've been on MFP (about ten months), I've seen it work for people over and over and over.
  • maybeazure
    maybeazure Posts: 301 Member
    You are a healthy weight for your height. That will make it harder to lose for sure. Honestly, I think maybe you should focus on building muscle, which I don't think you'll do on a 1200 calorie typical vegetarian diet.
  • ferra11
    ferra11 Posts: 18 Member
    My doctor said pretty much nobody EVER should go under 1200 net calories per day. And by net I mean intake minus calories burned. So if you eat 1200 calories and burn 400, your net is 800. This is not good.

    If your goal is 1200 calories, you need to be eating back your exercise calories to meet that minimum goal. So burn 400 calories means you need to eat a total of 1600 that day.

    I lost most my weight at 1240 net calories (plus or minus a couple) per day. So I'm not knocking low calorie eating. But I had doctor approval to go this low. Eating that low is not for everyone and not at all healthy for some. Eventually my weight loss stalled and I actually INCREASED my intake to jump start the weight loss again. I don't know all the ins and outs biologically for why this works, but I know since I've been on MFP (about ten months), I've seen it work for people over and over and over.

    Sounds about right what you are saying...I lost my weight years ago doing the same thing.. stayed around 1200 cals!
  • pmurtey
    pmurtey Posts: 4
    Soo I did my TDEE and it was 2900. WOW.
    I have not been eating the right amount at all.
  • lorid220
    lorid220 Posts: 14
    good luck!
  • ShaunaMcMac
    ShaunaMcMac Posts: 160 Member
    Sounds like your body is in starvation mode; it will hold on to fat stores if it thinks that it is in danger of starvation.
    You are 18 years old, likely with a high metabolism, and burning close to 1000 calories daily from your workouts. You need to FUEL your body.
    The Insanity diet guide has good info in it and a step by step formula to determine what your caloric intake should be.

    Good luck.

    ^^ I don't think you understand what starvation mode is.

    OP, if you haven't been losing weight it's most likely because you have not been tracking your food properly. Your diary isn't open so I cannot check and see.

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